Fwd: National Security Update – “The New START Treaty: It’s Enough to Make You Go Ballistic”

heritage.org | Heritage research | Blog |                          July 12, 2010 Issue in Depth: The New START Treaty Dueling op-eds last week by Senator John Kerry (D-MA) and former Governor Mitt Romney (R-MA) have brought the debate over the new START Treaty back to center stage. After ten hearings in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee it has become abundantly clear that this treaty is the wrong course for U.S. national security policy. It puts Russia on par with the U.S. as a nuclear power as if we were back in the days of the Cold War. More concerning, is the reduction in our ability to track and verify the Russian nuclear arsenal. Under this treaty, both the number and types of on-the-ground inspections will decrease compared to the original START Treaty. This will greatly reduce our knowledge of current and future plans regarding Russia's nuclear program. Most worrisome is the fact this treaty, despite administration claims otherwise, will impose restrictions on the U.S. missile defense system. Please see our most recent research on the new START Treaty in this week's National Security Update. Latest Research: The Heritage Foundation: New START is a Non-Starter With Herculean-like effort, the Obama Administration continues to insist that the New START treaty between the United States and Russia will not limit U.S. ballistic missile defense or the strategic options available to the President. However, numerous limitations and other problematic issues have continued to be exposed throughout the treaty. The Heritage Foundation: New START: Potemkin Village Verification An assessment by the New START Working Group concludes that New START's verification measures are less rigorous than in its predecessor treaty, simply called START. This is particularly worrisome because as deployed U.S. strategic nuclear warheads come down under New START, national security demands that verification become more, not less, reliable. The Heritage Foundation: Another Limit Imposed by the New START Treaty By alluding to the New START accountable first stages, General O'Reilly's statement inadvertently implies that the treaty imposes additional specific limitations on the U.S. missile defense program—restrictions that so far have not received adequate attention by some U.S. Senators. The Heritage Foundation: President Obama Should Give the Senate Access to the Negotiating History of New START Ambiguous language on strategic missile defense in the preamble of the recently signed strategic arms reduction treaty (New START) has prompted some Senators to request access to the negotiation records for the treaty. However, the Obama Administration and Democrat Members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee have denied all such requests, claiming precedent for not providing such access. More Blogs: The Foundry: Fact Checking the Fact Checker: A Response to Senator Kerry Senator Kerry (D–MA) penned an op-ed in the Washington Post making the case that ratification of the New START Treaty is in the best interest of U.S. national security. His article is in response to former Governor Mitt Romney's (R–MA) recent op-ed calling the treaty Obama's biggest foreign policy mistake. The Foundry: Five Reasons to Hate New START Tim Starks recently penned a piece for Congressional Quarterly titled "Republicans Take Pause at START Accord's Missile Defense Implications." His bottom line: "No matter how often Democrats or Obama administration witnesses try to sway them, Republicans continue to express doubts about whether a new arms treaty would constrain U.S. missile defense plans." Who can blame them? The Foundry: Guys with all the Right Stuff Eleven members of the Senate Armed Services Committee released a letter to the chairman and ranking member of the Committee, Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) in anticipation of the hearings on the New START Treaty.   More Events: July 20, 2010, 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.  Location: Washington, DC The Heritage Foundation: Stopping Terrorists at the Front Door: How the Visa Waiver Program Enhances U.S. Security Join us as panelists Marc Frey and C. Stewart Verdery, Jr. discuss the security benefits as well as the future of the Visa Waiver Program.  July 29, 2010, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Location: Washington, DC The Heritage Foundation: Skating on Stilts: Why We Aren't Stopping Tomorrow's Terrorism Drawing on his experience, former Homeland Security official Stewart A. Baker argues for building prudent new security measures around these key information networks.  Copyright All Rights Reserved © 2009, The Heritage Foundation The Heritage Foundation | 214 Massachusetts Ave NE, Washington, DC 20002 | 202.546.4400